11 George Washington was seemingly bulletproof during his military career
George Washington survived a bout with smallpox in his youth, a disease which was as often as not fatal to those stricken. As a surveyor he survived an incident during which he nearly drowned, though he was saved by his companion, Christopher Gist. Gist was also present when Washington’s small force was attacked at Fort Necessity, and it was his reconnaissance which warned Washington of the size of the French and Indian forces approaching him. Gist was also with Washington on the dark day along the Monongahela, when Braddock’s force of British regulars and colonial militia were routed in an ambush. Washington, who was suffering from dysentery, had two horses shot out from under him as he attempted to rally the troops after Braddock fell. After the battle he discovered four separate bullet holes in his coat. He was uninjured.
During the Revolutionary War Washington was frequently exposed to enemy fire, though each time he escaped unscathed, a fact noted in the diaries and letters of officers of both sides. On Manhattan he was directly exposed to a volley of British fire before his aides managed to lead him out of harm’s way. The same occurred at Princeton, leading one of his aides to cover his eyes to avoid seeing his commander shot down by British troops. A big man on a white horse made a conspicuous target, but Washington was again uninjured. It took inept doctoring by his physicians to kill Washington, as they bled him to the point that he was too weak to fight the throat infection for which his death was blamed.